Culture of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was first inhabited by Homo sapiens who traversed the Indian Ocean about 125,000 years ago. Sri Lanka has a documented history of over 3,000 years, mainly due to ancient historic scriptures like Mahawamsa, and with the first stone objects dating back to 500,000 BCE. Several centuries of intermittent foreign influence has transformed Sri Lankan culture to its present form. Nevertheless, the ancient traditions and festivals are still celebrated on the island, together with other minorities that make up the Sri Lankan identity. One very important aspect that differentiates Sri Lankan history is its view on women. Women and men in Sri Lanka have been viewed equal for thousands of years from ruling the country to how they dress. Both men and women had the chance to rule the land, which is true even in the modern day. The world's first female prime minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, was from Sri Lanka. Even though clothing today is very much westernized and modest dressing has become the norm for everyone, ancient drawings and carvings such as 'Sigiriya art's, Isurumuniya Lovers show how the pre-colonial Sri Lankans used to dress, which shows identical amount of clothing and status for men and women. ==Visual arts==

Architecture The architecture of Sri Lanka displays a rich variety of architectural forms and styles. Buddhism had a significant influence on Sri Lankan architecture, since it was introduced to the island in 3rd Century BCE. Techniques and styles developed in India, China and later Europe, transported via colonialism, have also played a major role in the architecture of Sri Lanka. Arts and crafts , from the Anuradhapura period, 8th century Many forms of Sri Lankan arts and crafts take inspiration from the Island's long and lasting Buddhist culture which in turn has absorbed and adopted countless regional and local traditions. In most instances Sri Lankan art originates from religious beliefs, and is represented in many forms such as painting, sculpture, and architecture. One of the most notable aspects of Sri Lankan art are caves and temple paintings, such as the frescoes found at Sigiriya, and religious paintings found in temples in Dambulla and Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy. Other popular forms of art have been influenced by both natives as well as foreign settlers. For example, traditional wooden handicrafts and clay pottery are found around the hilly regions while Portuguese-inspired lacework and Indonesian-inspired Batik are also notable. ==Performing arts==

Dance Sri Lanka is home to a variety of dance styles including classical, folk and dance drama, such as Kandyan dancing. Sri Lanka has 3 main endemic dance styles. They are named as Udarata (Endemic to Kandy), Pahatharata (Endemic to the Southern Areas) and Sabaragamu which is endemic to the districts of Kegalle and Rathnapura which are situated in the province of Sabaragamuwa. Music The two single biggest influences on Sri Lankan music are from Buddhism and Portuguese colonizers. Buddhism arrived in Sri Lanka after Emperor Ashoka and his children propagated the religion to Sri Lanka, while the Portuguese arrived in the 15th century, bringing with them cantiga ballads, the ukulele, and guitars, along with African slaves, who further diversified the musical roots of the island. These slaves were called kaffrinha, and their dance music was called baila. Traditional Sri Lankan music includes the hypnotic Kandyan drums- drumming was and is very much a part of music in both Buddhist and Hindu temples in Sri Lanka. Most western parts of Sri Lanka follow western dancing and music. Cinema The movie Kadawunu Poronduwa (The broken promise), produced by S. M. Nayagam of Chitra Kala Movietone, heralded the coming of Sri Lankan cinema in 1947. Ranmuthu Duwa (Island of treasures, 1962) marked the transition cinema from black-and-white to color. In recent years, Sri Lankan cinema has featured subjects such as family melodrama, social transformation, and the years of conflict between the military and the LTTE. Their cinematic style is similar to Bollywood movies. In 1979, movie attendance rose to an all-time high, but a gradual decline has been recorded since then. Undoubtedly, the most influential and revolutionary filmmaker in the history of Sri Lankan cinema is Lester James Peiris, who has directed a number of movies which received global acclaim, including Rekava (Line of destiny, 1956), Gamperaliya (The changing village, 1964), Nidhanaya (The treasure, 1970), and Golu Hadawatha (Cold Heart, 1968.)There are many cinemas in the city areas. ==Media and technology==

Cuisine The cuisine of Sri Lanka is primarily influenced by that of Southern India, Indonesia and the Netherlands. Rice is a staple and usually consumed daily, and it can be found at any special occasion, while spicy curries are favourite dishes for lunch and dinner. A very popular alcoholic drink is toddy or arrack, both made from palm tree sap. Rice and curry refers to a range of Sri Lankan dishes. Sri Lankans also eat hoppers (Aappa, Aappam,) which can be found anywhere in Sri Lanka. More recently, there has been a rise of westernised Tamil chefs returning to Colombo, including the now famous Janakan Gnananandan who spent his early years training in South London's Michelin Star restaurants. This influx has given rise to a new breed of Sri Lankan and Tamil cuisine that blends traditional spices with European fast food, such as Rmammidan, meaning hot chips that has proven very popular with younger generations. Much of Sri Lanka's cuisine consists of boiled or steamed rice served with spicy curry. Another well-known rice dish is kiribath, meaning milk rice. Curries in Sri Lanka are not just limited to meat or fish-based dishes, there are also vegetable and even fruit curries. A typical Sri Lankan meal consists of a "main curry" (fish, chicken, or mutton), as well as several other curries made with vegetable and lentils. Side-dishes include pickles, chutneys and "" which can sometimes be fiery hot. The most famous of these is the coconut , made of scraped coconut mixed with chili peppers, dried Maldivian fish and lime juice. This is ground to a paste and eaten with rice, as it gives zest to the meal and is believed to increase appetite. In addition to (, Sri Lankans eat "(", chopped leaves mixed with grated coconut and red onions. Coconut milk is found in most Sri Lankan dishes and it gives the cuisine its unique flavor. Restaurants serving Indian and Chinese cuisine are popular and found throughout the country. Spices Sri Lanka has long been known for its spices. The best known is cinnamon which is native to Sri Lanka. In the 15th and 16th centuries, spice and ivory traders from all over the world brought their native cuisines to the island, resulting in a rich diversity of cooking styles and techniques. Lamprais rice boiled in stock with a special curry, accompanied by frikkadels (meatballs), all of which is then wrapped in a banana leaf and baked as a Dutch-influenced Sri Lankan dish. Dutch and Portuguese sweets also continue to be popular. British influences include roast beef and roast chicken. Also, the influence of the Indian cooking methods and food have played a major role in what Sri Lankans eat. Sri Lankans use spices liberally in their dishes and typically do not follow an exact recipe: thus, every cook's curry will taste slightly different. Furthermore, people from different regions of the island (for instance, hill-country dwellers versus coastal dwellers) traditionally cook in different ways. Sri Lankan cuisine is known to be among the world's spiciest, due to the high use of different varieties of chili peppers referred to as amu miris (Green chilli), kochchi miris, and maalu miris (capsicum) and in Tamil Milakaai, among others. It is generally accepted for tourists to request that the food is cooked with a lower chili content to cater for the more sensitive Western palette. Food cooked for public occasions typically uses less chili than food cooked at homes, where the food is cooked with the chili content preferable to the occupants. Tea culture Tea is served whenever a guest arrives, it is served at festivals and gatherings. Clothing Festivals and holidays New Year The Sinhalese and Tamil New Year ("Aluth Avurudhu" in Sinhala, "Puthandu" in Tamil) is a very large cultural event on the island. The festival takes place in April (also known as the month of Bak) when the sun moves from the Meena Rashi (House of Pisces) to the Mesha Rashi (House of Aries). Unusually, both the end of one year and the beginning of the next occur not at midnight but at separate times determined by astrologers with a period of some hours between (the "nona gathe" or neutral period) being a time when one is expected to refrain from all types of work and instead engage solely in relaxing religious activities and traditional games. During the New Year festivities, both children and adults will often dress in traditional outfits. But the clothes must be washed and very clean because it should be pure. List of holidays • Public holiday, † Bank holiday, # Mercantile holiday All full-moon days are Buddhist holidays referred to as Poya. The actual date on which a particular Poya day will fall changes every year. Religion in Kandy, Sri Lanka in JaffnaThe Buddhist community of Sri Lanka observes Poya Days, once per month according to the Lunar calendar. The Hindus and Muslims also observe their own holidays. Sri Lankans are considered to be very religious, with 99% of polled individuals saying religion is an important part of their daily lives. The history of the island has been involved with religion numerous times. There are many Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka which date back to antiquity. In the middle of the temple, there is an old Boho tree. It is known that once Buddha had meditated here, so in honour of Buddha, people walk around the tree with pure water. After 4 rounds, they pour the water on the tree where Buddha meditated. When they walk around the tree, they pray. The trees are worshipped heavily. The religious preference of an area could be determined by the number of religious institutions in the area. The Northern and Eastern parts of the island have several notable Hindu temples due to the fact that the majority of the population living in these areas are Tamil. Ethnic conflict has severely affected other communities living in these areas during the times of LTTE strife. Many churches can be found along the southern coastline because of former Roman Catholic and Protestant colonial heritage. Buddhists reside in all parts of the island, but especially in the south, the upcountry, and the western seaboard. Buddhists are the largest religious group in Sri Lanka. ==Languages of Sri Lanka==

While the Sinhalese people speak Sinhala as their mother tongue, the Tamil people speak Tamil. English is also widely spoken. Sinhala is spoken by about 17 million people in Sri Lanka, more than 14 million of whom are native speakers. About 24% of the total population speak Tamil. Both Tamil and Sinhala are official languages. ==Sports==

Sports plays a very important part in Sri Lankan culture. The most popular sport in Sri Lanka is cricket, and as such, there are many cricket fields scattered across the island for children and adults to play the sport. Cricket Sri Lanka became the 8th Test playing nation and played their first Test match on 17–21 February 1982 against England. Since then, Sri Lanka became a force in international cricket, where they became the champions of 1996 Cricket World Cup. Then in 2014, Sri Lanka won 2014 ICC World Twenty20 as well. They also became six times champions of Asia Cup. Sri Lankans holds several world records, including highest Test wicket taker, ODI wicket taker, T20I wicket taker, highest Test total. Volleyball Volleyball is the national game of Sri Lanka. ==Birds in Sri Lankan Culture==

Birds hold a special place in Sri Lankan culture. Villagers maintain a nest at their home for home sparrows. Sparrows are believed to bring luck when residing in your home. The most popular bird in Sri Lanka is the peacock, the sacred bird of the God Kataragama. Gira Sandeshaya (Parrot Message), Hansa Sandeshaya (Swan message), Mayura Sandeshaya (Peacock Message), Salalihini Sandeshaya (Myna Message) are pieces of ancient literature. There exist numerous stories about birds, society and people. Birds are considered to be sacred and local gods are believed to have travelled on them. The King Ravana story involved a wooden air craft called Dandu Monara (Wooden Peacock), in which he flew to India to abduct Seetha causing a war among Rama and Rawana. Ancient flags contained symbols of birds. some of them are, • Two Swans Flag Dalada Maligawa, Kandy • Walapane Disawa Gangaramaya, Kandy • Maha Vishnu Dewala Flag, Kandy There are the arts and crafts focused on birds. and some of them are, • Sewul Kodiya Kundasale Vihare, Kandy • Kandyan Dress • Birds in Sandakada Pahana rock carving • Ancient temple paintings • A Special Brass Kendiya made in the shape of a bird used in marriage ceremonies ==National symbols==

The National symbols within Sri Lanka and abroad, and these also represent the country's traditions, culture, history and geography. The national symbols of Sri Lanka are the national anthem, national flag, national emblem, national flower, national tree, national bird, national butterfly, national gemstone and national sport. They were picked up and officially announced at various times. There are also several other symbols that do not have official acknowledgment or announced as national symbols, but are considered as national symbols at the local level. ==Tourism==

Tourist numbers are high in Sri Lanka- in March 2014 133,000 tourists visited. As with any influx of tourism there are of course a number of negative influences that can arise. Sri Lanka's natural areas have, for instance, been affected by increased pollution with discharges into the sea and natural habitat loss, as well as the depletion of natural resources, which have arisen because of excessive water use in hotels, golf courses and swimming pools – which consume unnaturally large amounts of water. In response to this, the Department of Forest Conservation (Sri Lanka) and the Department of Wildlife Conservation (Sri Lanka) have instigated a number of protected areas of Sri Lanka – there are currently 32 forests under their protection – and in total – a little over 25% of the island is now a protected area. Emerging trends in the tourism industry in Sri Lanka points the way to tourists seeking more traditional experiences over conventional ideals such as tours and resorts. Consequently, these tourists seek out cheaper accommodation where they can be exposed to authentic villages and richer and more rustic experiences – this gives indigenous identities a chance to be preserved and not overtaken as tourism takes hold in the more remote areas, with Sri Lankan indigenous people taking their place as a part of the attraction for tourists and are thus protected and provided with support. ==See also==

• von Schroeder, Ulrich. 1990. Buddhist Sculptures of Sri Lanka. 752 pages with 1610 illustrations. Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, Ltd. • von Schroeder, Ulrich. 1992. The Golden Age of Sculpture in Sri Lanka. [Catalogue of the exhibition held at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, D. C., 1 November 1992 – 26 September 1993]. 160 pages with 64 illustrations. Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, Ltd. ==Notes==